What this post rather contains is a list of the best travel apps that can help you on your upcoming trip. From planning, organizing, and up to the ‘implementation’ stage, all of the travel apps listed below have surely helped me in my past adventures — may it be city sprees, nature treks, or road trips — so I bet that it would help you too!

Now of course we both know how there are TONS of travel apps out there, and most could be awful if not expensive; that’s why hopefully, this article could prevent you from wasting your time and money as I give you the following FREE and dependable ‘virtual helpers’ that will enhance your traveling experience!.

10 Best Travel Apps (All FREE!)

#1 – PackPoint

If you’re like me who tends to be veeeery forgetful, PackPoint would definitely become your new pre-travel buddy! Through this travel app, you will never forget your travel essentials ever again. Ever.

WHY I LOVE IT:

PackPoint will build a packing list for you based on your length of travel, weather in your destination, and activities during your trip. But don’t worry, you’re free to edit their suggested list after they build it for you.

It also includes the number of things that you need to pack. There is a ‘Repeat Basics’ and ‘Laundry’ feature that you can turn on or off as they build a packing list for you.

It has an easy-to-use interface, partnered with cute graphics that are all easy on the eyes.

When I first discovered Rome2rio, I fell in love with it instantly! Basically, it’s a comprehensive global trip planner that helps you get from Point A to Point B in the most efficient way possible. You can type in any type of destination (an address, a landmark, etc) and Rome2rio will show you the bus, ferry, flight, train, and driving options with estimated travel times and fares.

WHY I LOVE IT:

It’s very precise in giving you all the details when it comes to travel time (with stops, etc.) and total costs. Some are estimates of course, but it’s almost very accurate when it comes to it!

This travel app saved my butt a lot of times whenever I wanted to identify the best train stop that I should pick whenever I’m traveling around Europe.

For sure, you have heard of TripAdvisor and I bet that you have used its website for numerous times already! But what you might now know is that through its travel apps, you can download a certain destination’s map and guide which you can use offline.

To access this section, you just need to go to ‘Download cities‘ on the app’s main page and in there, you can see over 300 cities available for download (and there’s more to come as TripAdvisor slowly develops more for the app).

WHY I LOVE IT:

First and foremost would be because of the offline use on TripAdvisor’s city guides. I typically don’t want to spend credit on my phone so whenever I see a great travel apps like this that can be used offline, it’s instantly included in my favorites list!

Add the fact that the city guides are comprehensive given all the millions of reviews, tips, and photos that travelers worldwide have contributed to the platform. (You’ll find here the top attractions, restaurants, museums, and whole lot more!)

Let’s say that after browsing through TripAdvisor’s city guides, you decided that you want to create your own itinerary based from their top lists. You surely wouldn’t want to go through the hassle of making notes or excel sheets since you would definitely want a more systematized and easy way of creating your personal itinerary… Well then this app, TripVerse, can do that job for you!

WHY I LOVE IT:

Creating a travel plan is so easy since activities or locations can easily be mapped. This is because TripVerse is integrated with Google Maps, Flickr, and Foursquare so once you fill in the location, the app will provide you the address, phone numbers, pictures, and more!

Once you finish creating your itinerary, you can read and use the app offline! You can also store an offline map of your destination for free.

You’re free to share your itinerary with other users of the app, and you can also see theirs!

Whenever someone thinks of travel apps with integrated maps to bring with them in their travels, Google Maps immediately comes to mind. This is a natural ‘response’ since it’s a really helpful app to have on your phone. Everybody uses it — I use it too, of course! However, for those who would want to use a map app that can be used offline or without WiFi, that’s when Google Maps become an unfriendly companion… so thankfully, there’s the travel app ‘Here’!

WHY I LOVE IT:

With maps for over 100 countries around the world, you can never be lost with Here! Besides, as long as you download beforehand your destination’s map, you can use it freely afterwards for offline use.

It’s helpful when you’re in a new city and in the verge of getting lost since it functions as your personal GPS. No matter if you’d like to walk or use public transportation, with its voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation, you will be guided right to your destination! (It follows therefore, that this app can function as a car GPS if you’re driving).

Real-time traffic and incident information for more than 40 countries.

Public transit maps, directions and information for more than 900 cities

For cities and towns that don’t generally speak English, it’s very helpful to have a language guide on hand. Surely you can’t bring around with you all those heavy phrasebooks, if for example, you’re planning on traveling to several countries. That’s why we can all agree how we are all so thankful for Google Translate!

WHY I LOVE IT:

It’s now possible download languages into your phone through the Google Translate app so that you can use it offline.

After Google seemingly acquired the technology of a previous app called ‘Word Lens’, Google Translate can now instantly translate printed texts in 26 new languages with the use of your phone camera! It’s pure genius, especially when it comes to languages that use special characters.

If in case you don’t have the time to learn a new language, TripLingo is the ultimate tool for a traveler like you who desires to go through a ‘crash course’ on the local language as well as its local culture.

WHY I LOVE IT:

It has 2,000 phrases and slang words per 13 available languages in their app (and there’s more to come!) as it helps you quickly learn the essential phrases with audio lessons, flashcards, quiz modes, and more.

BONUS: A ‘Culture Crash Course’ (helps you become more familiar with the local customs and etiquette), a ‘Tip Calculator’ and a ‘WiFi Dialer’ so you can call any international phone number through WiFi.

Apart from foreign languages, foreign currencies can be such a pain whenever you travel! Add the fact that there are constant currency fluctuations in the market, so it’s very difficult to be consistently on-the-dot with exchange rates — unless of course, you have XE Currency with you!

WHY I LOVE IT:

It offers LIVE currency rates, charts, and even stores the last updated rates, so it works offline. (The rates may not be refreshed at that point, but they are still very close to the accurate value).

You can simultaneously monitor up to 10 currencies, pin your base currency to the top, and more! And naturally, it’s really helpful when you’re trying to discern the value of the things that you’re paying for in the foreign country that you are in.

I adore Trail Wallet. It’s certainly one of my favorite travel apps especially when it comes to tracking travel expenses. Built by travelers, you can easily organize your expenses in this app by trip or by month. You can also set yourself a daily budget limit and then easily add expenses as you go.

WHY I LOVE IT:

Designed for ease and fast use, whenever you incur an expense, you can just simply launch the app, add the amount using its ‘Quick Add’ screen and you’re done! It’s a no-frill experience so you don’t have to spend so much time on it while you’re on the road.

You can set categories, themes, colors, breakdowns, etc. And at the end of your trip, you will have interactive + comprehensive charts and reports showing how your spending behavior went.

As you can see from the screenshots above, the app’s interface is very modern and organized. Plus, it has fun customizable characters that will alert you if you’re ever going over your budget. (And would even coax you to relax if you’re under your budget).

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38 comments

Travel Apps have become a necessity now a days and then again anything free is always welcomed, so thanks a lot for this great and helpful list. Packpoint is something new but seems really good for organizing. Rome 2 Rio is really becoming a popular App with regular travelers, and I've recently downloaded Here so eager to give it a try. Trail Wallet looks like an excellent idea to keep a track of all the expenses so I shall give it a try too. Thanks again.

My mission? To show you how it is absolutely possible to create a life of travel too (no matter the odds), and I will help you achieve that through my detailed travel guides, adventures, resources, tips, and MORE!